Amazon Kindle Fire Scares Competitors: 10 Reasons Why

News Analysis: Amazon's Kindle Fire is slated to launch next week and will compete against the Barnes & Noble Nook tablet. But it might just scare all the big names in the tablet market.

When
Barnes & Noble showed off its new Nook Tablet, the company had one goal in
mind: Make all those folks who preordered the Kindle Fire rethink their
decision. The Nook Tablet comes with a 7-inch display and Android-just like the
Kindle Fire-but it doubles the amount of storage to 16GB and offers twice as
much RAM as the Amazon rival. That said, the device retails for $249, making it
$50 more expensive than Amazon's option.
Barnes
& Noble's swift and strong response to the Kindle Fire is notable. The
company appears to see Amazon's upcoming tablet as a threat, and the last thing
it wants to do is allow the online retail giant to take a commanding lead in
the lower-end tablet/e-reader market.

This
leads one to wonder: What other companies might also be worried by what Amazon
is planning to launch next week? After all, the tablet market is very much up
for grabs right now, and the company that delivers the best solution-next to
the Apple iPad-will likely be able to generate huge amounts of cash. Simply
put, there is a lot riding on second place in the tablet market, and for now at
least, many firms appear to view the Kindle Fire as their biggest rival.

Read
on to find out why so many companies are scared of the Kindle Fire:
1. It's from Amazon
Let's
face it:
The Kindle Fire isn't all that unique. Several companies currently sell
low-priced Android-based tablets that come with few high-powered features, and
they're largely ignored by competitors. But Amazon is different. The competing
tablet makers know about its marketing power. They understand how
well-respected its brand is, and they see that it has the ability to
dramatically change a market.

2. The price is right
At
$199, Amazon is making it clear that it wants to at least become the
second-place competitor in the tablet space behind Apple. Currently, there are
several Android-based tablets that cost
around the $499 price point that Apple's cheapest iPad holds. However, the
number of low-priced alternatives, in comparison, is quite low. The Kindle Fire
might just bring more consumers into the tablet space, and Amazon will profit from
all of those folks.
3. It could put Android on the map
Looking
beyond Android competitors, the Kindle fire could also scare Apple and Research
In Motion. Those companies would like nothing more than to see Android fall
flat in the tablet space. And so far, it has. But the Kindle Fire could change
that.
4. Consider the apps
Surprisingly,
Google has become a competitor to Amazon and the Kindle Fire. Sure, Google
services will be available on the Kindle Fire, but one of the biggest features
in the tablet-its app store-will not be powered by Google's Android Market. Instead,
applications will be available through Amazon's own app store. If the Kindle
Fire takes off, that could be a major issue for Google.

Don Reisinger is a freelance technology columnist. He started writing about technology for Ziff-Davis' Gearlog.com. Since then, he has written extremely popular columns for CNET.com, Computerworld, InformationWeek, and others. He has appeared numerous times on national television to share his expertise with viewers. You can follow his every move at http://twitter.com/donreisinger.